Properly Screened

It took some historical context for me to understand why this noir, which initially felt campy and predictable, has endured as a masterpiece. Compared to modern films like The Substance or Black Swan that also explore what happens to women when they are no longer seen as desirable, Sunset Blvd. (1950) feels restrained, classical, and polite. What I didn't realize was that Sunset Blvd. was the first film brave enough to tell the truth about how Hollywood treats leading ladies as they age. Gloria Swanson, a real silent-era icon --- at one time the most famous woman in the world --- was cast as Norma Desmond, a forgotten middle-aged silent-era star living in a decaying mansion on Sunset Boulevard. The film follows struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis, played by William Holden, who becomes Norma's (ambivalently) kept (much younger) man. Norma is convinced she’s on the verge of a comeback, while the audience can see she’s descending into madness. When it premiered, studio executive...

Wanting something badly enough has a way of loosening your boundaries. That’s the theme at the center of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960), a cynical comedy about realizing how much of yourself you’ve given away. For C.C. Baxter (played by Jack Lemmon), ambition turns his apartment into a hook up spot for his bosses and their mistresses. Baxter is a lonely insurance clerk in New York City looking to climb the corporate ladder. He falls into a scheme where he allows the executives at his firm to borrow his Upper West Side apartment for their trysts in return for promises of advancement. At first this arrangement feels harmless, but over time, Baxter isn’t just giving up his space, he's giving up his sense of dignity.  Fran Kubelik (played by Shirley MacLaine) is making a similar compromise in love. Fran works as the "elevator girl" at the same insurance company. She’s romantically involved with Mr. Sheldrake, Baxter’s married boss, who promises he will leave his wife fo...